13. April 2016 | Leclanché announces Financial Results for 2015

PRESS RELEASE
Leclanché announces Financial Results for 2015 and reports on achieving
key Growth Plan milestones
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Market guidance achieved
Revenue increased by 69%
2015 EBITDA loss as percentage of Revenue almost stable compared to 2014
with a 9% reduction.
Growth investment of CHF 10 million accounts for nearly 40% of the EBITDA
loss
Book to bill (order backlog) increased by more than 100% year-over-year
Graciosa project to be fully operational by Summer 2016
Won contract to build world’s largest electric ferry
Major award to build one of the world’s largest stationary energy storage
systems in Ontario Canada. US$ 45 million turnkey contract to supply, install
and commission a 53 MWh system.
Major capital raise planned in 2016 to support growth initiatives
Annual Report 2015 published today
Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, 13.04.2016
Leclanché SA (SIX Swiss Exchange: LECN), the fully vertically integrated, battery energy
storage solution provider, announced today its annual results for the year ending 31
December 2015. Consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2015 were CHF 18.2 million, up by
68.5% compared with the previous year; the EBITDA loss for the year amounts to CHF (26.0)
million compared with a loss of CHF (16.92) million in 2014.
Anil Srivastava, Leclanché CEO, said, “We are pleased to report the Company met its financial
guidance given to the market for 2015 and achieved break even EBITDA in the month of
December 2015, excluding all exceptional items and year-end adjustments. This turnaround
month was driven primarily by revenues generated by the Graciosa project.
“2015 was a strong year for Leclanché. Our strategic partnerships and investments have
enabled us to offer world-class customer solutions in several high growth markets across our
three application areas: utility-scale generation & microgrids; eTransport; and commercial &
industrial battery systems. As a result, we have achieved excellent operational momentum
with major industry-leading, project wins validating our position as the leading vertically
integrated energy solution provider. We are excited about the opportunities ahead as we
execute on our pipeline and continue to build out our capabilities to continue to capture the
rapidly growing global energy storage market.”
Key operating milestones achieved in 2015 include:
 Stabilization of balance sheet and operations through Recharge A/S total investment
of CHF 31 million, including CHF 10 million in Growth investment. Of this, CHF 21.8
million has already been converted to equity.
 Successful repositioning of Leclanché in the market place as a fully vertically
integrated Energy Storage Systems provider.
 Implementation of one of the world’s largest Lithium-battery based micro-grid
projects on the Island of Graciosa in the Azores (Portugal).
 Selection to provide battery power to the Largest Electric Ferry in the world.
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Installation of innovative battery pack for solar street lighting solutions in Saudi
Arabia in a strategic partnership with Scotia A/S.
Successful introduction of All Electric Buses in Bruges, Belgium.
Contract win over large global competitors for one of the world’s largest Stationary
Storage Systems in Ontario, Canada.
“These customer wins and investments strongly validate the Company’s growth plan and are
confirmation that we have successfully positioned Leclanché as a complete Battery and Energy
Systems Provider significantly increasing our addressable market across the full spectrum of
power-intensive and energy-intensive applications.
“We believe the energy storage sector has reached a tipping point where it is no longer a
question of when, but how fast it will grow. All the indications support this view.”
According to Navigant Research, the Lithium-ion market for stationary and industrial mobility
applications segments in which Leclanché offers its solutions is forecast to grow 37% annually
to 75.5 GWh by 2020: these markets include Residential Energy Storage, Commercial &
Industrial Buildings, Micro-grids, Utility-Scale, Buses, Ferries and Materials-Handling Vehicles.
According to the same study, Stationary Storage Systems is forecasted to grow 48% annually
to 4.2 GWh, while Mobile Storage Systems is expected to grow 37% annually to 6 GWh and
Specialty Battery Systems for the commercial and industrial markets to grow 48% annually to
11.3 GWh.
Funding and Balance Sheet Highlights
From a funding perspective, 2015 was been a year of stabilization for Leclanché. By year end,
December 31, 2015, the company had drawn down the full CHF 13 million Facility A, the full
CHF 8 million under Facility B and CHF 2.7 million under Facility B Extension from the Recharge
A/S convertible loan for a total of CHF 23.7 million.
In July 2015, Recharge elected to convert a further CHF 16.8 million into Leclanché shares,
thereby substantially reducing the Company’s debt, and agreed to add an additional CHF 5
million for growth funding under Facility B together with an extension of the due date from
June 2016 to June 2017. This takes the total funding commitment of Recharge to CHF 31
million (CHF 5 million acquisition of Oakridge convertible loan, CHF 13 million of Facility A and
CHF 13 million of Facility B), of which CHF 21.8 million has already been converted to equity.
In Dec 2015, the Company raised CHF 6.9 million for investment in developing and deploying
large projects. Leclanché has secured solid backing from most of its larger shareholders as well
as a new significant private equity investor, ACE & Company. Founded in 2005, ACE & Company
is a global private equity group based in Geneva, Switzerland. The group has five offices
globally and invests across the various stages of private equity, from business angel to buyout
acquisitions, including growth capital and special situations.
“We are particularly pleased to have ACE & Company, and its CEO and founder, Adam Said, on
board as new investors in Leclanché, and appreciate their support of the company’s vision and
future,” said Srivastava. “This has been a very fruitful period for the company and one in which
we have made significant progress despite many challenges. We would also like to record our
appreciation for the active participation of the representatives of Recharge, Scott Macaw and
Robert Robertsson as Board members, and for the substantial financial support which has
helped the company accelerate its growth plans.”
Key Events and Achievements in 2015
Younicos/Graciosa Project
In April 2015, Leclanché announced a partnership with Younicos to deliver the world’s first
megawatt-scale micro-grid renewable energy plus storage system, integrated with wind, solar
and diesel generation, on the island of Graciosa in the Azores (Portugal). The renewable
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energy powered grid will boost the annual share of renewable energies to the island’s 4,500
inhabitants from a previous limit of 15 percent to up to 65 percent and thus allow the island
to substantially reduce its dependence on fuel imports.
In May 2015, the company announced the turnkey order of € 8.5 million for the supply and
commissioning of the Graciosa Battery Power Plant (“BPP”), of which circa € 4 million relates
to the 3.2 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (“BESS”), for delivery in the second half of
2015, and € 4.5 million relates to the entire Engineering, Procurement and Construction
(“EPC”) for the BPP.
Additionally, an affiliate of Recharge has provided € 3.5 million in convertible debt financing
to the project’s operating company, Graciolica, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Younicos, as
support towards the realisation of this project by the end of 2015. Further, Recharge increased
its investment by providing an equity of € 7.9 million to accelerate deployment of the project.
Ontario, Canada Grid Ancillary Services Project:
In January 2016, the company announced winning one of the world’s largest Stationary
Storage Systems in Ontario, Canada. Leclanché is the turnkey contractor (EPC) to supply, install
and commission a total of 13 MW / 53 MWh energy storage systems over six sites with ancillary
services agreements with Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
Leclanché direct supply incudes Battery Storage System and Power Conversion System, while
Deltro Energy Inc. is the partner for the Balance-of-Plant (BoP) scope.
Eighteen times bigger than the Graciosa project, the Ontario project represents a contract for
Leclanché worth US$ 45 million in the first phase. In the second phase, due in the year 2018,
the project will be upgraded with significant increase in Power capacity to 120MW resulting in
a new order of further c.US$ 35 million for Leclanché.
The project will use high energy density Graphite/NMC cells – the second cell technology
introduced by Leclanché during the year. These services are now required to maintain grid
stability as more and more renewable energy is added to the electricity mix. This market is
growing fast and early players will have access to GWh markets in the coming years.
Joint Solar Project
In September 2014, Leclanché announced a landmark project together with the
“Polytechnique Federale School” in Lausanne (“EPFL, Swiss Institute of Technology”) and
“Romande Energie” (which runs one of the largest roof top solar electric plants in the French
speaking part of Switzerland), with financial support from the Canton of Vaud, to study
innovative solutions to store solar energy and to distribute it in an optimal way at times of
peak consumption. We are pleased to report that the entire system for 512kWh high-capacity
long life battery storage, comprising approximately 8,000 lithium-ion titanate cells with
related mechanical, electrical and software systems housed in a 40-foot container, was
installed on site at EPFL and successfully commissioned in October 2015.
This project is an important reference for the Company and has already been helpful in
securing orders for megawatt-scale storage projects for Leclanché.
Visedo Oy Alliance
In May 2015, the company announced a strategic alliance with Visedo Oy (“Visedo”), based in
Finland, to produce an integrated solution for battery and traction control systems and to
establish the first full plug-and-play drivetrain system suitable for use in any electric bus or
other EV-solution. Leclanché and Visedo’s solution represents a true breakthrough for the
industry as real-time tests show that it is more than 20% efficient compared with its peers
currently on the market.
The first joint project from the alliance with Visedo has been the joint project win, announced
in June of this year, to deliver a 4.2 MWh battery and a full-electric drive train for the world’s
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largest electric ferryboat, to be placed in service in June, 2017 to transport vehicles and
passengers between the island of Æro and the mainland in Denmark.
This is one of the top five projects in the EU Horizon 2020 initiative and part of the Danish
Natura project which guarantees local people green transportation in these areas. The project
is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 2,000 tons and NOx by 41.5 tons per year, and also
reducing emitted noise levels and wake waves right behind the ferry by 60-70%. The battery
system provided by Leclanché will allow record-breaking charging power of up to 4 MWHh for
short port stays and efficient operation, and is scheduled for delivery during 2016.
Trineuron Acquisition
In July, Leclanché announced the acquisition of Trineuron, a business unit of the Belgian
Company Emrol. Trineuron’s products and market footprint are very complimentary to those
of Leclanché, in particular its multi-functions applications controller and cloud services
platform. Trineuron’s significant sales pipeline, particularly in automated guided vehicles
(“AGVs”), will also help to broaden the company’s customer base. An all-shares acquisition
preserves funds for other growth investments.
“We are pleased that Stefan Louis, Managing Director of Trineuron, has agreed to join
Leclanché as Chief Strategy Officer and VP of Systems R & D, bringing a wealth of experience
to the Company. This acquisition provides a strong team of trained and experienced engineer
who will enable the successful technology and know-how transfer in the design and IP rights
for Modules and battery management systems software,” said Srivastava.
ADS-TEC Design and IP Rights Acquisition
In August 2015, the company announced the acquisition of design and IP rights for modules
and battery management system software (BMS) from ADS-TEC.
Srivastava said “This acquisition propels Leclanché into new space as one of a few select energy
storage players in the industry with complete vertical integration capabilities from cell
manufacturing to full storage systems delivery.”
The additional benefits derived from this acquisition include:
 Fast-track to greater control of value chain, together with significantly improved
competitive position and margins, for an insourced total solutions offer.
 Consideration in the form of 1 million Leclanché shares (preserving funds for other
growth initiatives and strengthening the Company’s balance sheet) and € 2 million
cash.
 Further improvement in margins to be achieved by setting up manufacturing in
Switzerland once know-how has been brought in-house, and continuity of supply is
meanwhile ensured by a two-year co-operation agreement allowing technology
transfer during a period of major anticipated project wins.
Electric Bus Contract
In October 2015, the first three full-electric buses were placed in service by a consortium
consisting of Van Hool, Bombardier and Leclanché. Through their fast charge capability, the
buses have a virtual unlimited autonomy allowing them to be used continuously in the city
transport system. Leclanché designed and optimized the battery and charger systems for the
given route and simulated their expected life, in support of the extended warranty. The
battery was designed to be light and compact so that driving performance and consumption
were not negatively affected.
All of the system components, such as the Siemens drive line, Leclanché batteries and
conductive chargers and Bombardier inductive chargers were efficiently integrated through
the efforts of our engineers. The bus fleet is now quietly transporting passengers - mainly
tourists - through the beautiful city of Bruges, while Leclanché carefully reviews the
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performance data fed to our cloud remote management database, ensuring the operation
and long life the customer expects.
Commercial Progress
In addition to the industry-leading customer wins noted, where all Business Units have won
industry-leading reference projects, Leclanché announced a full range of Home and Office
Storage Systems in June 2015 during Intersolar in Munich. Good progress has been made in
building sales channels for these products, in particular in the UK and Switzerland. Presence
on this market segment, though not a large part of the Company’s turnover, is strategically
vital. ‘Behind-the-meter’ deployments and dynamics will likely have a profound impact on the
Storage Systems market.
Leclanché is focused on expanding the customer base for its Speciality Battery Systems
business unit with a particular focus on replacing lead acid batteries deployed for industrial
applications. For example, a pilot order has been received for all-electric Street Sweeping
Machines. Upon the successful trial, this is expected to open an addressable market for
thousands of such machines worldwide.
Production Progress
The company commenced production of the new graphite-based cell in the first half of 2015.
The first three months served as a validation period along with the establishment of all the
production specifications. The first certified commercial Graphite NMC cells were made in the
second quarter, and have been integrated within customer destined battery modules. The
cells have now been used in several different modules and have been sent to external
laboratories for third-party characterisation and validation.
The introduction of this new technology to the product set required only small changes to the
existing production line, which is now capable of producing both LTO and Graphite-based
technologies, with the use of third party electrodes from Litarion. Since the introduction of
the graphite-based cells, the company has been validating its own electrode production in
order to have the capability of producing all components in-house. This gives Leclanché more
flexibility in its production and supply chain planning and also represents one of the main
drivers in cost reduction efforts.
The first half of 2015 also saw the initial steps of the production of cells for the Graciosa
project. The production was at first running in a single shift operation, with a second shift
being implemented in late Q3. Approximately 50,000 cells were produced in H2 2015, with
the majority being LTO cells; most of the production took place in Q4 when the ramp-up had
taken full effect.
On the system integration side, the first half of 2015 had been predominately focused on the
process definition and validation of our next generation transport modules. The modules are
based on previously developed designs and are being optimised for larger volume production.
These activities have been carried out at the Yverdon, Switzerland site where we intend to
implement full module production.
Research & Development Progress
Available market reports indicate continuous reduction in average selling price (“ASP”) in the
coming years; Leclanché has continued its aggressive cost reduction programs in both Cells
R&D and Systems R&D.
A lot of our R&D focus in 2015 has been on cost reduction by validating new raw materials
procurement and related development to increase the energy capacity of cells. This work will
result in significant cost reductions at a production level during the second half of 2016.
The Electrochemistry (Cells) R&D team continued to participate in Batteries 2020, which is an
EU-funded project aimed at enhancing the lifetime and energy density of lithium-ion batteries
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used in electric vehicles, and validating their usability for second-life applications such as
stationary storage for grid-related functions.
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The company is a consortium member of the Ambassador project, which is an EUfunded project to study, develop and experiment with systems and tools that aim to
optimise district energy usage and manage the energy flows by predicting and
matching energy consumption and production.
Leclanché cells have been independently tested by Hochschule Landshut University of
Applied Sciences and found to have “enormous cycling stability and capacity retention”
at 100% depth of discharge. Testing has been ongoing at the institute, further
validating our technology performance. The company has also been working with
Hochschule Offenburg and has been running deep characterisation testing for more
fundamental understanding of degradation mechanisms that could affect our LTO
cells.
As previously reported, Leclanché is also working on a high voltage LTO cell, which might allow
us to increase the capacity of our standard cell, significantly reducing the cost per kilowatt
hour. The company has seen encouraging results in testing and the development program
continues to progress well, but it is still too early to make any commitment if and when
Leclanché would be in a position to launch such a cell on the market.
 The company has also been validating the performance and process ability of its inhouse electrodes made for the Graphite-based cells.
The Systems R&D team continues to focus on all the technology that goes on top of the cell
such as module, pack & rack, BMS, asset planning, asset management and asset service.
Leclanché has obtained the cooperation with several Swiss, German and Belgian universities
and research institutes to maintain the lead in state-of-the-art technology. The focus is on cost
reduction programs such as a new module design, a new multi-purpose in-house BMS platform
and a smart multi-asset cloud database. Initial results indicate significant cost savings can be
realised in H1 2017 and beyond.
New Organization fully functional
Effective since January 2015, Leclanché has been organized around three commercial
Business Units, one Engineering Business Unit (BU) and one Technology and Industrial team:
Stationary Storage Systems BU sells to, and supports, customers requiring Storage Solutions
coupled with Distributed Power Generation like PV Solar/ Wind/ Diesel Gensets and Grid
Ancillary Services.
Speciality Battery Systems BU combines the Portable and Distribution businesses to focus
delivery of Customized Battery Systems to its Customers.
Mobile Storage Systems BU sells to, and supports, customers requiring Storage Solutions for
mass transport networks such as hybrid/full-electric fleets of Bus/Trams/Trains/ Ferries, and
Industrial Machinery.
System Engineering and Delivery BU is responsible for Design, Project implementation and
Services for all commercial Business Units.
Technology and Industrial Team is responsible for group-wide R & D and Production functions.
Over the past two years, Leclanché has built a world-class international leadership team with
a good blend of existing personnel and new recruits. Strategic hires during the year include
Stefan Louis as Chief Strategy Officer.
While the company has focused on operating as efficiently as possible in the past year, the
current operating cost levels are unlikely to be substantially reduced further since this would
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be incompatible with Leclanché’s planned business expansion. The new growth plan, in which
we have invested more than CHF 10 million in the year, has already required significant scaling
of operations in sales and solutions delivery which, although incorporated within an efficient
organisational structure to deliver increased productivity per person, has inevitably impacted
the results and working capital absorbed within the year 2015, as outlined in the summary of
financial results below.
Financial Results
Key Figures
(in million CHF)
Revenue
EBITDA
Loss for the period
Earnings per share (CHF)
31-Dec-15
18.2
-26.0
-35.5
-1.20
31-Dec-14
10.8
-16.9
-23.4
-1.21
Number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Employees
159
114
Notwithstanding the new funding available from Recharge from January 2015 the overall
financial performance of the Company was still adversely affected by the tight liquidity that
had been experienced during the second half of 2015. Work to rebuild customer and supplier
confidence, while contributing to new project wins and a growing sales pipeline, translated
into new business in December 2015 with the revenue generated in the Graciosa project (CHF
9 million) so that 2015 consolidated revenues were just CHF 18.2 million, up by CHF 7.4 million
or 69% compared with the previous year.
The 2015 Group EBITDA loss was CHF 26.0 million (2014: EBITDA loss CHF 16.9 million).
However, this increase of EBITDA loss year on year should be read as follows:
 As stated in June 2015 interim report, thanks to the continued successful
implementation of the Growth Plan and to the revenue generated by the Graciosa
project, December 2015 Adjusted EBITDA was breakeven (defined as EBITDA
breakeven adjusted to exclude any non-cash items and as further adjusted to exclude
any negative effect of growth initiatives and activities which are separately funded
under Facility B or otherwise). This major improvement was also achieved thanks to the
various strategic and restructuring decisions and investments made in the year 2015,
including relentless efforts to achieve cost reduction.
 2015 EBITDA loss in percentage of Revenue is almost stable compared to 2014 with a
9% reduction. Yet adjusted EBITDA loss as defined above is showing an improvement
of EBITDA loss/Revenue ratio by 25% compared to last year (-117% vs. -156%). Here
too this upturn reflects the work done in reshaping Leclanché towards becoming a
more efficient company.
Revenues from the Specialty Battery Systems Business, formed from the combination of the
business units previously called Portable and Distribution, (SBS) were CHF 7.2 million (2014:
CHF 10.0 million), down by CHF 2.8 million compared with the previous year, mainly as a result
of one large long-term contract drawing to a close during 2014 and not yet being replaced by
new business.
SBS has continued to recruit new sales personnel during the period and is successfully
diversifying into new sectors such as medical systems and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV)
with a view to replacing this lost revenue over the course of the next 12 months. As
announced in recent days, the Company’s Belgium unit, formed from the acquisition of
Trineuron in July 2015, has also won a large contract for supply of lithium-ion titanate batteries
within AGV to be used for materials handling by a world-known brand leader.
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As mentioned earlier, through a further strategic partnership with Scotia Light A/S of
Denmark, the Company has introduced innovative solutions for off-grid solar-powered street
lighting. This represents a promising new product range using Leclanché’s lithium-ion titanate
cells in a custom configuration, which has already translated into sales of 200 battery modules
for off-grid street lighting masts for deployment in the demanding environment of Saudi
Arabia.
Revenues in the Stationary Storage Systems Business and Mobility Business were CHF 10.8
million (2014: CHF 0.6 million), with the deliveries under major project wins such as Graciosa
and E-Ferry. The E-Ferry project itself is representing an additional CHF 3.5 million revenue in
aggregate, scheduled for the second half of 2016.
The Speciality Battery Systems Business generated an EBITDA loss for the year of CHF 2.1
million (2014: EBITDA loss CHF 0.8 million), as a result of reduced revenues and the increased
cost from new sales personnel.
The Stationary Storage Systems Business recorded a reduced EBITDA loss of CHF 9.0 million
(2014: EBITDA loss CHF 9.3 million), mainly as a result of the costs absorbed under the
development programme for the EPFL project, as partly offset by further costs from the
reorganisation and ramp-up of sales and marketing activities and personnel which has
continued during 2015.
The new Mobile Storage Systems Business recorded an EBITDA loss of CHF 2 million for the
year, reflecting the personnel and operating costs of this new division but without the
revenues from project wins such as E-Ferry.
Group central costs at the EBITDA level were CHF 11.1 million for the year (2014: CHF 6.8
million), an increase of CHF 4.3 million, including the impact of Trineuron acquisition, mainly
attributable to the organisational and operational restructuring needed to deliver business
expansion under the new growth plan which, although incorporated within an efficient
organisational structure to deliver increased productivity per person, has inevitably increased
costs.
The net loss for the year was CHF 35.5 million (2014: net loss CHF 23.4 million), an increase
CHF 12.1 million, as a result of an increased Group central costs EBITDA losses described
above, amounting to CHF 6.8 million, together with an increase in finance costs of CHF 0.8
million, resulting from higher levels of convertible loans, the reversal of a deferred tax asset
of CHF 1.1 million, a CHF 1.2 million impairment made on several capitalised project costs and
a CHF 1.8 million provision to cover a dispute with a tax authority on a grant which should be
reversed in the first half of 2016 following the favourable settlement we are about to reach.
The earnings per share for the year is a loss of CHF 1.20, compared to a loss of CHF 1.21 in
2014, due to a higher net loss and the higher weighted number of shares in issue when
compared to the previous half-year.
Available cash and undrawn facilities at 31st December 2015 were CHF 3.5 million (2014: CHF
0.5 million). In addition, CHF 2.3 million was undrawn from the Facility B under Recharge A/S
convertible loan. Further on 7th March 2016, the Company announced a new Convertible Loan
of CHF 20 million with ACE Core Convictions Ltd. (ACE & Company).
Outlook
We are now uniquely placed in the energy storage market as manufacturer of both powerintensive LTO cells and energy- intensive G-NMC cells. Secondly, we are now able to deliver a
complete turnkey systems solution (including battery packs, design engineering, systems
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integration, software and EPC). Our move downstream in the value chain has been very
successful and is core to our growth strategy.
Going forward, we aim to enhance our current organization around the following strategic
pillars:
 Electrochemistry, in particular around LTO cells
 Mechanical and electronics systems hardware, such as inverters
 Energy storage systems software
 Customer applications for grid-scale stationary and mass eTransport and industrial
applications
 Project management as well as engineering, procurement and construction
capabilities
We are seeing an increasing number of opportunities in the market with increased activity in
particular around large-scale energy storage solutions for both grid-scale electricity and mass
eTransport segments. We are very excited about the opportunities, particularly around Microgrid/ energy islands, the grid ancillary services market and eTransport, and we are confident
that we can deliver 30 MWh or more of solutions this year (up from 5 MWh last year).
International expansion remains a top priority for us and we will continue to pursue strategic
alliances to establish a strong go-to-market and delivery partnership in the following markets:
US, Canada, China, India and South Africa.
Subject to the availability of funds, we intend to carry out selected M&A and / or strategic
alliances to complement and enhance our strengths in the abovementioned areas. More
details shall be provided during the course of the year.
We anticipate that, subject to the continued successful implementation of the Growth Plan
and timely payments from the IESO project in Canada, current funding facilities in place will
satisfy the Company’s working capital requirements for the year 2016.
To support the current momentum toward sustainable and profitable growth, in particular
delivering integration and services in both secured large projects and the new large projects
in the pipeline, the Company and its Board have decided in principle to launch a Large Capital
Raise using the shares to be authorized by the AGM and by the EGM held in January 2016. We
are targeting this raise to be around CHF 70 million, including CHF 20 million for select merger/
acquisition transactions. The goal is to raise CHF 50 million in equity to finance our growth over
the next two years plus CHF 20 million in loans to finance mergers and strategic acquisitions.
The Large Capital Raise project was launched in February 2016 with an end 2016 targeted
completion date.
In parallel Leclanché has announced on the 6th of March 2016 the signature of a CHF 20 million
facility for medium term growth financing whereby ACE & Company: buys the current
outstanding convertible loan from Recharge A/S; extends the current convertible loan
agreement with a new committed CHF 10 million as Facility C; and has agreed to raise further
CHF 10 million on a best efforts basis. These proceeds will support growth investments related
to the 53 MWh grid ancillary services project for IESO Ontario.
Key Risks and Mitigation:
A large-scale industrial ramp-up is well underway: after registering industry-leading
commercial success in the year 2015, as reported above, we have increased our focus on
mitigating the execution risk associated with delivery of such large projects, including ramping
up the production to the highest level since the facility was put in place. That said, the
execution risk remains high. As mentioned we are committed to deliver 30 MWh or more in
the year 2016, which is 6 times more volume than in 2015.
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A large-scale Organizational ramp-up in well underway: we will continue to ramp-up staffing
in all critical areas, in particular in engineering and customer project delivery. We have
recruited key personnel in the US and are building the project team to deliver the IESO project
in Canada.
Large capital raise mentioned above is crucial to step up the investment in all key areas, in
particular R&D; production volume increase; project engineering and management; and sales
& marketing.
The financial results in the year 2015 do not yet reflect the positive impact of customer orders
won and acquisitions made by the Company. We are encouraged by the progress and excited
by the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.
Finally, as announced on the 7th of April 2016, our Cells production factory in Willstätt
Germany suffered a fire accident in a section of the factory. The local firefighting brigades
extinguished the fire. Measurements of the firefighting brigades have shown no health risks
for the people in the vicinity of the factory. No personnel were hurt. The cause of the fire is
still under investigation. While, the production in Willstätt has been stopped, Leclanché has
activated the contingency plans in place and is confident to meet all its delivery commitments
to customers, in particular for the IESO Ontario project in Canada.
We would like to conclude by expressing our thanks to all our employees, and to our
shareholders for their support during this period. We look forward to continuing to build
Leclanché’s future with them and with you all.
Publication of results
Leclanché SA published today its annual report which is available in pdf format on the
Company Web site:
www.leclanche.com/investor-relations/financial-reports-publications/annual-reports
Analyst and investor webcast
After the AGM scheduled on Wednesday the 4th of May 2016, a live audio webcast will be
accessible for analysts and investors on Monday the 9th of May 2016 at 14:15 CET (13:15 GMT/
8:15 EST).
Analysts and investors wishing to ask questions during the conference are invited to register
with the investor relation team by email: [email protected]
Media contacts:
Worldwide, except US and Canada:
Jacques Boppe / Maya Aprahamian
Tél.: +41 (0) 24 424 65 00
E-Mail: [email protected]
US and Canada:
Rick Anderson / Henry Feintuch
Tel.: +1 (718) 986-1596 / +1 (212) 808-4915
E-Mail: [email protected]
Shareholder, Analyst and Investor contacts:
E-mail: [email protected]
About Leclanché
Leclanché SA, listed on the Swiss stock exchange (SIX:LECN), has a wide range of energy storage solutions for
homes, small offices, large industries, electricity grids, as well as hybridization for mass transport systems such as
fleet of buses, trams, ferries, etc. Established in 1909, Leclanché has been a reliable partner for battery energy
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storage solutions for over 100 years. Founded in the tradition of Georges Leclanché, the inventor of the dry cell
battery, Leclanché today has a rich portfolio of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) that include bespoke battery
systems from industry leading lithium-ion solutions. Since 2006, the company evolved from a traditional battery
producer into one of the first developers, manufacturers and provided of lithium-ion cells in Europe. Leclanché’s
BESS are optimized for various applications, in particular for the integration of renewable energy, diesel fuel
reduction, electricity grid-connected ancillary services, peak power shaving for heavy industries, as well as for heavy
duty transportation in buses, trams, trains or maritime vessels. Leclanché products are characterized by a very high
cycle stability (both for cells with titanate and graphite anodes) and industry-leading long service life. Thanks to our
patented separator technology, which is a core element of lithium-ion batteries, Leclanché is able to make cells
with very good safety characteristics, under a highly automated production process. Leclanché operates a fully
automated plant for the production of large format lithium-ion cells at an annual maximum capacity of up to one
million cells and is capable of running multiple chemistries through production for different cell characteristics. In
addition, Leclanché offers a number of specialized battery systems through its Portable Business Unit, such as
customer-specific energy storage systems for defence and medical applications. Leclanché also distributes primary
and secondary batteries and accessories of other producers.
Leclanché, which is quoted on the Swiss stock exchange. SIX Swiss Exchange: ticker symbol LECN | ISIN CH 011 030
311 9
Disclaimer
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to Leclanché's business, which can be
identified by terminology such as "strategic", "proposes", "to introduce", "will", "planned", "expected",
"commitment", "expects", "set", "preparing", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "would", "potential", "awaiting",
"estimated", "proposal", or similar expressions, or by expressed or implied discussions regarding the ramp up of
Leclanché's production capacity, potential applications for existing products, or regarding potential future
revenues from any such products, or potential future sales or earnings of Leclanché or any of its business units.
You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current
views of Leclanché regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that Leclanché's products will achieve any
particular revenue levels. Nor can there be any guarantee that Leclanché, or any of the business units, will achieve
any particular financial results.
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